Laura is the Applied Pathology Lead at the Bayer Crop Science Vegetable R&D site in Woodland, CA, USA. She manages a team that supports the breeding pipeline in delivering critical disease resistance traits to vegetable germplasm in a variety of crops. Her team provides diagnostic and phytosanitation support in addition to their primary function of disease resistance phenotyping. Laura has been with the company for over 10 years and has held roles in the molecular lab and the trait genetics department where she mapped disease resistance traits prior to joining the pathology department. She received her B.S. degree in Evolution and Ecology from the University of California, Davis and her M.S. in Plant Pathology, also from UC Davis.